Natural Bioactive Molecules: Discovery, Mechanisms and Applications in Health and Agriculture

Dear Colleagues,

Natural bioactive molecules constitute a vast and diverse reservoir of compounds that play important roles in biological systems and significant potential for applications in agriculture, biotechnology, and human health. Plants, microorganisms, and fungi produce a wide variety of metabolites involved in defense, signaling, and adaptation to environmental stress.

Advances in molecular biology, metabolomics, and biotechnological approaches are accelerating the discovery and functional characterization of these molecules, providing new insights into their mechanisms of action and expanding the range of their potential applications. This Special Issue aims to showcase recent advances in the discovery, molecular characterization, and functional analysis of bioactive molecules from natural, microbial, fungal, or bioinspired sources. Particular emphasis will be placed on compounds that enhance plant resilience to environmental stresses such as drought, salinity, and pathogens, as well as molecules with antimicrobial, signaling, or protective properties. In addition, many natural bioactive compounds display activities relevant to human health, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and regulatory effects on cellular signaling pathways.

We welcome original research articles and reviews addressing the discovery, mechanisms of action, and practical applications of bioactive molecules in agriculture, biotechnology, and health-related fields.

Dr. Antonella Locascio
Guest Editor

Dr. Sergio Chevilly Tena
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.